In many motor vehicles at least one of the seats can be configured in either a riding position or a stowed (i.e. cargo) position. There are several known methods of stowing the seats, including a "fold-away" method employed in the Jeep.TM. Grand Cherokee.TM. and other sport utility vehicles.
In prior art FIG. 1, an exemplary fold-away seat configuration has a bottom cushion portion 220, a backrest portion 210, and an upper floor section 230. In moving the seat from a riding position to a stowed position, the bottom cushion portion 220 is pivoted from a substantially horizontal position to a substantially vertical position, and the backrest portion 210 is subsequently pivoted from a substantially vertical position to a substantially horizontal position. Depending on the specific configuration employed, the back of the backrest portion 210 may become flush with the top ofthe upper floor section 230 as shown, or rest on top of the seat support 230 (not shown). Similarly, the front of bottom cushion 220 may or may not juxtapose lower floor section 240.
Fold-away configurations have numerous advantages, but also some disadvantages. One disadvantage is that the bottom cushion portion 220 must be independently movable with respect to the backrest portion 210. Another disadvantage is that since the entire seat structure is typically bolted to the vehicle at the pivots, the seat cannot readily be removed from the vehicle.
In contrast to vehicles having two-piece, fold-away seat configurations, some vehicles provide seats having a unitary configuration, where the seat cushion portion and the backrest portion are coupled to one another more or less directly, rather than exclusively through the floor, frame, or other portion of the vehicle. It is of course known for the backrest portion of such seats to fold down, and it is also known for such seats to be entirely removable from the vehicle by ordinary users. But in general the manufacturers of such seats provide either no mechanism at all for maintaining the seat in a stowed position, or only an inadequate mechanism. In some model years of the Ford.TM. Expedition.TM. and Excursion.TM. and the Lincoln.TM. Navigator.TM.,for example, the seats are not intended to be stowed at all, but are instead intended to be physically removed from the vehicle. This design feature ultimately provides more room in the vehicle for storage, but can be cumbersome and unappealing to consumers. In that case the manufacturer attempted to remedy the situation in the 2000 model year, but the method employed to hold the seat in the stowed position involves extends directly into the main body of the cargo space.
Priority application Ser. No. 09/253108, filed Feb. 19, 1999, which is incorporated herein in its entirety, discloses methods and apparatus in which a unitary type seat is placed in a stowed position such that the rear of the seat is tilted upwards, the front of the seat is tilted downwards, and the seat is maintained in the stowed position by a pivoting bracket coupling the seat to the floor near the front of the seat. In that application removable pins were employed is a preferred method of holding the bracket in a desired position. While that method proved to be quite effective, operation of the pins seems to have been somewhat difficult for some individuals.
There is still an ongoing need to provide a simpler and more effective means of maintaining unitary type seats in a stowed position.